The Biblical Burdens of Calvinism (Pt 3)

Limited Atonement
Selected Scriptures
2007.04.01
one28 Sunday worship

The fact is, this is serious and important stuff. Not only does history itself hinge on the cross of Christ, everything in the Christian’s life hangs on the cross as well. As we turn towards the upcoming week and our celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ on Easter, I think this is a perfect time to consider the cross and what Jesus actually did for His children almost 2000 years ago.

I know many of you are enjoying the current series on Calvinism. I’ve been having some great conversations with a number of you, working through some of your questions, and hearing about a number of lunch/dinner conversations your having with your families, as well as some great small group discussions. I continue to be thankful for your receptivity and that even the disagreements are being handled in a Christlike manner for the most part.

However, I also know for a fact that some of you think this whole discussion is useless, if not actually damaging. You believe talking about Calvinism isn’t beneficial. You are convinced that it doesn’t matter and that it only causes divisions. And since we can’t know for sure one way or the other, we should move onto something else.

But that is horrifically sad. I fear for those of you, because if that is your attitude then it’s like you’re happy with your faith resting on a cloud. There is no solid support for you. The things we’ve been talking about are not in the margins of your Bible, they are the marrow of it. The eternal work of the Trinity in salvation is the point of the Bible and the point of history as it shows Himself off. This isn’t useless, this is indispensable.

And so we are seeking a certain level of precision. The reason for that is because the more precise your understanding, the more firm your faith and hot your praise.

At the same time, we’re not going as deep as we possibly could. The purpose of this series is to be a precise, middle-level overview. We’re not skipping along the top of the water, neither are we putting on snorkeling gear. It’s kind of like being dragged through the water when your inner tube has flipped over. We’re covering ground, but you might get a mouthful of water along the way.

We return this morning to the third biblical burden, and this petal is not only the center of TULIP, it is the center of God’s plan of redemption, it is the heart of the gospel, and it is the core of our hope. I hope that one of the benefits of this extended and specific reflection on the cross is intensified celebration. So as you think about today as Palm Sunday, the final Sunday of Jesus’ earthly life, consider Jesus’ intent as He entered Jerusalem.

Review of Last Week

Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is substitutionary atonement. The Father “made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We had sinned; He took our punishment. We needed righteousness; He provided perfect righteousness. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

But the Logical Question is, did Christ’s work on the cross make atonement possible or did Christ’s work on the cross accomplish atonement? In other words, does Christ’s work on the cross need our faith to finish the atonement process, or did Christ’s work on the cross guarantee our faith because atonement was finished?

The Arminian says Christ’s death was designed to make salvation possible for each and every person who has ever lived in any place at any time; the target of the cross was universal and general. But the Calvinist says Christ’s death actually secured the salvation of all of God’s elect; the target of the cross was individual and particular. Christ’s death accomplished and guarantees salvation for all of God’s chosen people.

Of course, as we also pointed out last time, everyone limits the atonement in some way. The Calvinist limits the atonement in its scope (that is, who the atonement is for. It is an issue of quantity). But Arminians limit the atonement in power (that is, what the atonement actually accomplished. It is an issue of quality). As Lorraine Boettner said,

For the Calvinist it is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge which goes only half-way across.

And then we considered some of the verses that reveal the Biblical Affirmations of the defined intent of Christ’s death. For example, in John 10 Jesus Himself makes a distinction between two groups, those who are His sheep and those who aren’t. Then He clarifies the aim of His sacrifice.

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

If Jesus laid down His life for the sheep, does that mean He didn’t lay down His life for the non-sheep? If He lays down His life for the non-sheep that undermines the whole point of the passage. The same would be true if He laid down His life for the wolves.

And this isn’t the only passage where a limitation is put forward. There are a number of verses where the word “many” is used.

Matthew 20:28 the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. See also Matthew 28:28; Hebrews 9:27-28

And Hebrews 2:17 says Christ’s propitiation was “for the people.” John 11:50-52 says Christ’s death was for the “children of God.” This is different than saying His death was for every person.

So to summarize the biblical affirmations,

1. Jesus states that He atoned for the sheep.
2. Jesus actually accomplished atonement for sin through His death and resurrection.
3. Jesus prays for the application of the atonement He purchased. (Hebrews 7:25)

Hebrews 7:25 He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

This is Jesus’ work as our high priest. And we know from John 17 in His high-priestly prayer that He prays for all those that the Father gave Him, and not for the whole world. The Father chose men to give to the Son, the Father sent the Son to be the substitute for the sheep, the Son atoned for their sin and now intercedes for the sheep, and the Spirit applies the work of the Son at the right time.

Potential Problem Passages related to Limited Atonement

There is no doubt that those of you who know your Bibles, or for that matter, anyone who knows John 3:16 has some questions.

The problem with talking about the atonement being only for the sheep, for the elect, is the passages of Scripture that use words like world, all, and everyone. There are a number of verses that use these sweeping words to communicate what seems to be a much broader intent in Christ’s death. And while you certainly can do more study of this on your own, let me explain what I think is the essential factor in the discussion. This is a perspective that is foreign to us.

Who were most of the NT books written to? That is, what kind of people were the original audience of Scripture? The Jews. And the Jews had major misunderstandings about their Messiah. Not only did they misunderstand His purpose–they thought of His deliverance only in terms of politics, not deliverance from sin. And I think they also misunderstood His target–deliverance for Jews and Gentiles!

The gospel is for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Romans 1:16). We have a very hard time with this. We don’t think in terms of Jews and Gentiles. We would be satisfied leaving off the last phrase in verse 16. The Jew/Gentile discussion seems unimportant and irrelevant for most of us American Christians.

Yet I think you will find that when words like “all” and “world” are used in reference to Christ’s death they are meant to challenge the narrow, Israel-centric attitude of the Jews. Let’s consider a couple of these passages.

1 John 2:2

1John 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

There it is, the whole world. Now this is an issue of exegesis, not logic. Most 5 Point Calvinists are accused of being driven by logic. And while I don’t have a desire to be illogical this is primarily an interpretational issue, not a logical one. There are only a few ways to interpret verse 2. Most people think that whole world means every person, specifically unbelievers. They think the our refers to Christians and that Jesus is the propitiation for every believer and every unbeliever. But if the target is unlimited, the propitiation has to be limited. There are two possibilities if the target is universal.

• He is the (partial) propitiation for every person in the world.

He could be the partial propitiation, that is, He could have appeased God in some sense for everyone. But what sense would that be? In what way did Jesus appease God’s wrath against those who are in hell, or those who will experience God’s wrath to come? The verse says that propitiation was for sin, so was it only for some sins or certain kinds of sin? What good was that propitiation for them? And if it was only for some sins, then what is the additional propitiation that Christians get, since Christians are saved? There just aren’t verses that talk about complete appeasement for believers and an incomplete appeasement for unbelievers. The partial propitiation interpretation is no good.

• Or, He is the (potential) propitiation for every person in the world.

This second interpretation option is that Jesus is a potential propitiation. This is basically the Arminian position. The bridge is very wide but it only goes halfway across. Jesus appeased God’s wrath but it isn’t valid until we believe. But when you read the verse, the passage doesn’t actually say it was a potential propitiation. It says He is the propitiation for our sins. It is a fact. And if it is reality, then it isn’t potential. It’s a done deal. Also, if the propitiation were only potential the door is still open for the possibility that Christ appeased God’s wrath for some that God is still wrathful towards.

Honestly, I’m not really excited about limiting the propitiation. Limiting the atonement to a certain percentage of sins, or to certain kinds of sins, or saying it is only potential misses the encouragement the verse is meant to provide. But there is a third possible interpretation.

• He is the (full) propitiation for every (kind of) person in the world.

I’ve added the word “full” to make the contrast clear between this third interpretation and the previous two. If propitiation were simply allowed to mean what it means, we wouldn’t need a qualifier like “full.” Nevertheless, the epistle of 1 John was written by the apostle John, one of the pillars of the Jerusalem church. So as a Jew, writing to to a primarily Jewish audience, John was trying to expand their national horizons. There are no national limitations on His work of atonement.

The our is not just Christians, it is Christian Jews. Christ is not the propitiation for Jews only, but for the whole world, for all kinds of people in the world including Gentiles.

So again, you either limit the atonement by extent or power. You either say it is limited because it was partial or potential, or that it is limited in that it was intended for a specific group, even though that group consists of persons regardless of nationality.

John 3:16

And of course, no discussion of potential problem passages would be complete without considering John 3:16. The Gospel of John was likewise written by the apostle John, and while we ought to celebrate the broad nature of the verse, I’m not convinced it refers to every person without exception.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In John chapter three, John is relating a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews (verse 1). Nicodemus was undoubtedly a prime example of someone thinking that salvation was for Israel, and Israel alone. Jesus is expanding Nicodemus’ understanding by explaining that whoever believes in Him will be saved; whoever among the Jews and whoever among the Gentiles. There is a broad, sweeping promise in the gospel, as it goes into all the world.

Hebrews 2:9

Hebrews 2:9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

The question here is whether everyone refers to every human being, or everyone within a certain group. Immediately after saying that Christ tasted death for everyone, the writer of Hebrews explains God’s design in this suffering of Christ was to “bring many sons to glory.” This means that the everyone of verse 9 probably refers to everyone of the sons in verse 10. It was for everyone of these that Christ tasted death.

For an excellent sermon on Hebrews 2:9, read John Piper, For Whom Did Jesus Taste Death

Obviously there are other verses as well, but this sampling shows that there are possible explanations for preaching particular atonement to every nation.

Perhaps the best way to say it this is: Christ died for all the sins of all those who would ever believe. Or another helpful summary statement: He did not die for all men without exception, but for all men without distinction. He didn’t die just for Jews but also for Gentiles. Atonement was made not just for men, but also for women; old an young, educated and uneducated, from every race, etc. No one can say, “I really want to be saved by believing Jesus, but I can’t because He didn’t die for me.” No one can say that, because any who believe can be saved.

Limited and Unlimited Effects?

Many Calvinists believe that Christ’s death has both limited and unlimited effects. The limited effect is salvation for the elect, but there are also non-salvation effects of the cross for every unbeliever. Those Calvinists who think there are both limited and unlimited effects typically refer to themselves as 4.5 Point Calvinists.

They say, for example, that on the cross Christ purchased common grace for everyone. That is, His death allowed for the Father to give sun and rain to unbelievers. And while there is no denying God’s common grace to His creatures, I can’t find an actual verse anywhere that connects the cross and common grace. Common grace comes from God’s gracious character. His general kindness is part of His nature. But nowhere in Scripture does it say these temporal “good things” were part of Christ’s atoning work.

The same people also suggest that Christ purchased delayed judgment on the cross. Again, I can’t think of any verse that connects the cross with any postponement of judgment. In Romans 3:25 we read that He doesn’t judge immediately because of His divine forbearance, but likewise, this is part of His character, not a purchase of the cross. Besides, I’m not sure that delayed judgment is better, since the more an unbeliever experiences God’s common goodness the more accountable he is. Delayed judgment is inevitably worse judgment, and certainly Christ did not purchase greater accountability.

And it is also suggested that Christ purchased a global gospel offer on the cross. That is, His dying for the world means that the gospel can be preached to everyone in the world. But again, where is the verse that says Christ suffered so that the gospel could be preached to everyone? What Scripture explains the purpose of the atonement in terms of purchasing the universal offer of salvation?

I can only find one Scriptural effect of Christ’s death that has universal implication.

Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Romans 8:19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

There is some sense in which the death of Christ overcame the effects of sin on creation itself. Though creation didn’t sin, creation benefits from the cross as Christ redeems many sons and sets creation free from the curse of futility due to man’s sin. But this is not a universal effect for unbelievers. The reconciliation that Christ made on the cross for creation is established, just as the reconciliation of the elect is a done deal. It is not partial or potential.

So other than this reconciliation of creation, I cannot find any passage that reveals unlimited effects of the cross. There are some blessings give to all mankind, but those flow from God’s character, not the cross. The purposeful, direct purchases and benefits of the cross are limited to the sheep.

CONCLUSION

So when we use the phrase “limited atonement” we don’t mean that Jesus was limited, or that He wasn’t able to do everything He wanted to at the cross. It doesn’t mean that He would have needed to suffer more pain, or even die a second death in order to save more people. In fact, His death on the cross has infinite value, because the Sacrifice Himself was of infinite value.

But the cross had a particular intent, to save the elect, and therefore was limited in scope.

Jesus came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), exactly as the Father planned. His work on the cross accomplished reconciliation, justification, and sanctification (Romans 5:8-10). He continues His work for the sheep even now through intercession (Hebrews 7:25), and that not for the whole world but for all the Father gave Him (John 17:24-26). This is still a great number from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 5:9). In particular, His death was not just for the Jews but for all the children of God scattered throughout the world (John 11:52).

As we finish up the third point of Calvinism and try to tie everything together, is this really a “limited” atonement? Spurgeon said,

If Christ has died for you, you can never be lost.

That is something not just to defend, but to celebrate! Not only that, this is something to preach! He died for everyone who will ever believe. That means if you believe, your sins are atoned for.

Christ didn’t die and write us a check, hoping that we would sign it. He died and paid His Father directly in the currency of His blood. Our sins are paid for. It is finished. God is not waiting for the possibility that we will accept forgiveness, He only waits for His timing to apply forgiveness already purchased. Christ’s work on the cross does not depend on our faith to make it effective, rather His work on the cross is effective to make us depend on Him in faith.

It is the death of Christ that guarantees for us everything we need.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Who are “us all”? Even the people who are in hell? Did the Father really not spare His son, pouring out punishment on Him, and then not give faith to those He paid for? Don’t you think the Father planned on giving us “faith” in the all things?

(And by the way, does all things mean a Hummer, and good looks, and long life, etc.? Not at all. The “all” has a context, namely all the good things necessary for eternal life.)

If you are a believer, there is no peace like when you really grasp that Christ died on your behalf. What comfort is it to think that Christ paid the same penalty for those who are now in hell? What good did His sacrifice do for them? And what makes His sacrifice more valuable for us? Our faith? No. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimsoned stain, He washed it white as snow. This is why we look to the cross (not to look to ourselves looking to the cross).

One final quote from John Owen,

…if there be any comfort, any consolation, any assurance, any rest, any peace, any joy, any refreshment, any exultation of spirit, to be obtained here below, it is all to be had in the blood of Jesus long since shed, and His intercession still continued; as both are united and appropriated to the elect of God, by the precious effects and fruits of them both drawn to believe and preserved in believing, to the obtaining of an immortal crown of glory, that shall not fade away. (Owen, The Death of Death)

Forgive me for making probably a common complaint. All I want to know is how the calvinist finds this theology joyful. I’m not being sarcastic or whatever and please believe that I understand theology quite well. I really do want to know how the calvinists does it. I often try to worship this God - whom planned adam to fall, for the seed of sin to pass on to all men, for those men to be unable to do anything but sin, to save some of them (which took not an eternal hell to accomplish but rather a day or two of pain) and to eternally torment the others, and all this for his glory of which he is under no obligation to achieve. I find myself agonizing over these thoughts. I feel I somehow have to embrace His destruction, somehow I have to approve of Him torturing every person I’ve ever loved as they are not the elect. I see my family, whom first taught me Christ, burning in agony as I am obligated to accept that it is their just punishment for being heretical arminians - as God had decreed they would. I imagine this God, this God who does not have a priority for the well-being of his creation but rather his glory, feeling pleasure from the screams of world. I see him in all his glory, power, and knowledge and I fear him. But I’m sickened by him. I raise my hands in surrender often but I emotionally collapse under the weight of having to accept the ultimately unacceptable to me. Someone please tell me - how do you find this acceptable? How can I love this? We are pawns when it comes to our destiny.

Dear Shiven,

Thank you for your response, although I am saddened by your perception of God’s sovereignty. Perhaps you don’t really understand–at least this part of–theology after all. While my own understanding of God’s sovereignty is not perfect I cannot imagine being truly joyful without it.

In fact, the Bible clearly and consistently connects our joy with His control over all things, even when those things involve great personal pain.

For example, the apostle Peter links our ability to rejoice in heaviness to our knowledge of God’s sovereign mercy that regenerates us and protects us for an eternal inheritance. 1 Peter 1:6 says, In this we rejoice, that is, in His electing grace and His persevering grace (considered in verses 3-5) we exult. And as verse 8 explains, this is no meager or minimal joy, it is joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. Without His sovereignty, not only would we still be dead in our sin, there would also be no reliable basis for joy now or in eternity.

What enabled Job’s joy? Job immediately recognized God’s control when he was suddenly blindsided by calamity (loss of all his livestock and property) and tragedy (all of his children killed by a windstorm). Not only did Job understand God’s sovereignty, he worshiped the LORD and criticized his wife for her unwillingness to receive evil from God, even when his own health was taken without warning. Although Job had no clue of the purpose of this calamity, his response was not to question God’s control or His character. The sovereignty of God was his comfort.

Certainly Jesus Himself is the ultimate example. It was for the joy set before Him that He endured the cross, which He clearly understood to be His Father’s will. This was the greatest act of evil ever committed, yet it is also the greatest demonstration of God’s love and grace. No other single event in history connects joy with sovereignty like the cross.

But why? How can/does this fit? Though we may not fully understand, God’s Word does reveal the ultimate answer. The following paragraphs are from John Piper’s message, The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God.

God decreed from all eternity to display the greatness of the glory of his grace for the enjoyment of his creatures, and he revealed to us that this is the ultimate aim and explanation of why there is sin and why there is suffering, and why there is a great suffering Savior. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came in the flesh to suffer and die and by that suffering and death to save undeserving sinners like you and me. This coming to suffer and die is the supreme manifestation of the greatness of the glory of the grace of God. Or to say it a little differently, the death of Christ in supreme suffering is the highest, clearest, surest display of the glory of the grace of God. If that is true, then a stunning truth is revealed, namely, suffering is an essential part of the created universe in which the greatness of the glory of the grace of God can be most fully revealed. Suffering is an essential part of the tapestry of the universe so that the weaving of grace can be seen for what it really is.

Or to put it most simply and starkly: the ultimate reason that suffering exists in the universe is so that Christ might display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God by suffering in himself to overcome our suffering. The suffering of the utterly innocent and infinitely holy Son of God in the place of utterly undeserving sinners to bring us to everlasting joy is the greatest display of the glory of God’s grace that ever was, or ever could be.

God was on the throne at the fall as He will be when men are judged to eternal wrath. But God was also on the cross, dying as a sinless substitute for all those who would ever believe, those whom the Father elected to salvation for the praise of His glorious grace. And for believers, our joy and His glory go hand in hand.

As hard as these truths may be, they are our only hope of salvation and therefore our only guarantee of joy. A Scripture-driven, Calvinistic understanding of this world doesn’t make men miserable or cause us to collapse emotionally, it is a life-jacket that preserves joy now and forever.

Thank God for the sovereign grace, Arminians always have their pride to question God. I believe that God elects according to His good pleasure and His own will. Anything from that is error. John 3:16 is very clear that He loved only those who are elected and not the whole world. Thanks.

In Him,
Pastor Job